Monster Hunter Pie

by BronyArmitage

Chapter 15 - Suspension Blues

"I can't fucking believe you got us fired..." there was no joy or humor in Wookie's voice. Pinkie couldn't tell just how angry he was, and that's what made her the most nervous. They had just disembarked from the ship that the Guildmasters had put them on after Alatreon's assault on Tanzia. There had been no sightings of the black dragon being passed through Guild channels, and no one had seen hide nor hair of him since the Guildmasters ran him off. Pinkie shifted nervously as she walked.

"N-now, I didn't exactly get us fired. Just...Suspended. For a little bit. As in, not forever." she was spending as much time convincing herself as she was convincing her hunting partner. She was still dwelling on what the dragon had spoken of. About having come in contact with her prior to the attack on her hometown. She dug through her memory and found nothing. No trace that she'd ever dealt with Alatreon before that day. She was brought back to reality when she realized Wookie had started speaking again.

"-Until the hadle breaks off! Hey! Are you listening?!" Pinkie smiled sheepishly at him. "You may as well have gotten us fired, Pinkie! Whether we can ever come back is probably up in the air, and who knows how long it's going to take until the Guildmasters get all this shit sorted out! We're out of work until then!"

"We could always work fast-food." she suggested, her voice getting smaller as she saw the expression on his face.

"No. Fuck that. Absolutely not. I went through all the bullshit to become a Hunter so I wouldn't have to do menial labor. And so did you." he took a calming breath. The pink-haired Huntress was shielding herself, eyes shut tight. She peeked out after a moment, seeing that he was trying to calm down. She lowered her hands slowly, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Having had to turn in her license, armor, and weapons left her with just her normal clothes. A bright pink, long-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants that looked like they'd seen one too many "power slides", and black sneakers. Wookie's civies looked similar, but he wore a button down shirt over a t-shirt and beat-up jeans. "Look, let's just get back to the academy. Maybe we can just do some remedial shit and get our licenses back early." he jerked a thumb behind him, where the Hunter's Academy towered over the rest of the structures near it. The large colosseum that served as the training arena made the entire school take up a large chunk of the city. An unknown town until the Academy was built, Celestia and Luna were around for the construction of the school. No one was quite sure how old they were, or even how old the Academy was. Pinkie followed behind Wookie, staring at the structure that loomed ever closer. It was a place she had hoped to never return to.

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Their footsteps echoed down the hallway, class being in session the halls were empty as they traversed their old school. The walls were decorated with pictures of classes that had graduated. Pinkie had stopped, looking up at the picture at her own graduating class. A sad smile crossed her face. She hadn't crossed paths with any of the Hunters she'd graduated with, until she noticed a familiar pink pompadour in the picture.

"We were in the same class?!" her voice almost cracked a bit, echoing down the hall and making Wookie jump so high he almost hit his head on the ceiling. He whipped around, head on a swivel to make sure she hadn't drawn any attention.

"Try and be quieter." he hissed, walking over to where she was standing. "Were we? I find it hard to believe that I would forget attending classes with someone like you." his voice dripped with sarcasm, but sure enough, there they were. Same picture, same year. "Huh. Look at that. Guess you didn't make much of an impression." Pinkie puffed out her cheeks.

"You sure it wasn't you who didn't make an impression, jerk?" Wookie just chuckled, turning and walking away from her. It wasn't too long before he bumped into a very familiar person. She dropped her books as they collided, and Pinkie stifled her laughter. "Umph!" he backed up, noticing that he was holding onto the arm of the person he'd bumped into. "Twilight? Shit, I'm sorry." he bent down to pick up her books, Pinkie walking up next to the pair, as anothe familiar face joined them.

"Lyra?!" Pinkie squeaked and tackle-hugged her first liaison. The mint-haired girl almost losing her footing, but managing to stay upright. Both girls had grins plastered on their faces.

"You two gonna' kiss?" Wookie's voice came from behind Pinkie, and she released Lyra, tapping her fingers together nervously. "Here you go, Twilight." the Hunter handed the thus far silent liaison her books and smiled. "Who's this, Pinkie?"

"Oh! This was my liaison back at my first village!" Pinkie smiled again, holding a hand towards Lyra. "Her name is Lyra. Without her, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did."

"Don't give me too much credit, Pinkie." a small blush of pride had spread across Lyra's face. "You did all the hard work. How have things been going since you left the village, by the way?" the smile dropped off the Huntress's face, and Wookie crossed his arms over his chest.

"You...You haven't heard?" Pinkie's voice once again shrunk, her eyes downcast. Lyra tilted her head, then looked over at Twilight. "Wookie and I are on suspension." she motioned towards the other Hunter sheepishly. The minty liaison's jaw dropped and she stared at Pinkie.

"How did that happen?!" Lyra was in complete shock. Pinkie had been doing quite well in Moga. She found it hard to believe that Pinkie would do anything to cause herself to be put on suspension.

"It was the Reaper from the Sky." Twilight finally spoke up, and they all stared at her. "I know you've heard this story, Lyra. Everyone who walks through these halls knows about it."

"I can't say that I do, Twi." Lyra raised an eyebrow, watching as her fellow liaison spoke. Twilight cleared her throat before regaling Lyra with the same story that Pinkie had told to Wookie. When she was done speaking, Lyra looked more than a little surprised.

"O-okay. But that's not Pinkie's fault." Lyra spoke, clearly shaken. "I mean, just because it happened to attack her home, then the port when she was there doesn't mean it's chasing her." she was attempting to convince everyone of this, including herself. Twilight's features didn't budge.

"We don't know that for sure, though. Do we?" the purple-haired liaison gripped her books a little tighter, narrowing her eyes and glaring at Pinkie. "Why don't you fill in the blanks, Pinkamena?" she seethed, voice coated in venom. Pinkie looked like she was on the verge of tears. "You obviously know something we don't about this thing. Well?!"

"Back up, Twilight. She doesn't know any more than the rest if us." Wookie spoke up, moving in between the two. A few tears left trails down Pinkie's cheeks. "The story you told Lyra is, almost verbatim, what Pinkie told me. She doesn't know what Alatreon wants from her." Twilight turned away in a huff, walking away from the three of them.

"So...So that's why you guys are back here." Lyra looked terribly shaken, but she tried to smile. "Is Tanzia gone, then?" Wookie shook his head. "That's good."

"It's in a severely bad state of affairs, but nothing that can't be fixed." Wookie hadn't moved his eyes off of Twilight until she disappeared around a corner, heading for the library. Pinkie was trying her best to hold herself together. Having people upset with her was not something she dealt with very well. Wookie pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He was trying to maintain some level of control over everything, and trying to convince himself that it wasn't Pinkie's fault. He was having a much more difficult time with the latter.

"Well...Celestia and Luna haven't returned, yet." Lyra spoke. "Twilight is acting as the Guildmaster until they get back, and I doubt she's going to rush to help you guys get into remedial courses." the liaison rubbed the back of her head, thinking. "Let's go talk to Miss Dash and see if she can at least get you guys into some physical courses." Lyra motioned for them to follow. They did, Pinkie taking shuddering breaths, composing herself as they wound through the halls of the school. Their footsteps the only noises outside of Pinkie's attempts to calm herself. They drew up to the doors that lead into the arena, and Lyra had to put a little 'umph' into them to get them open.

"Geez! They need to make those things easier to open." she said, walking through an incredibly wide corridor until they stepped into the lobby. The colosseum also served as the auditorium for the school. All assemblies were held there, in addition to training and other major events. "Miss Dash should be putting this year's seniors through the Gauntlet." both the Hunters gave a little shudder. They remembered the Gauntlet all too well. They ascended up into the stands, and sure enough, there was a group of students sprinting through various obstacles, rolling under others, and sing through even more. Wookie and Pinkie had pained looks on their faces that had nothing to do with their suspension.

"You call that fast?!" they heard the brash voice of their former trainer. "I can call my grandmother over to show you how it's done if you want, people!" Lyra snickered, but the pair of Hunters almost felt the need to go out an do the course. They followed the liaison as she got close to the rainbow-haired trainer. The woman who stood before them in a cyan hoodie and black track pants had put two of the three of them through hell. The Hunters stayed a few yards behind the liaison, hoping maybe she would shield them from their trainer's raw energy. "Long time, no see, Lyra." Rainbow Dash spoke as the liaison came to stand next to her.

"It has been. How do this year's seniors look?" Lyra asked, folding her hands behind her back. Dash sighed, shoving her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, watching the future graduates with a certain level of scrutiny.

"It's been a while since I've seen a really good class of Hunters." the trainer spoke, chewing on her whistle. "I don't know. Last year's class was the best I'd seen in a long time. Lots of oddly colored hair in that group." she turned towards Lyra, then noticed Pinkie and Wookie. A smirk spread across her face. "Speak of the devil." the pair snapped to attention. "I didn't think you two would come back. How have you been?"

"Good, ma'am!" they responded in unison. Lyra was watching them with a bemused look, and Dash just chuckled.

"Good to hear. So, what can I do for you, Lyra?" she asked, a couple of the seniors drawing close to the end of the course. "Nobody said slow down!" she blew her whistle and it looked almost as if she'd struck them. They started moving faster, Pinkie and Wookie flinched.

"It's about these two, actually." Lyra motioned at the Hunters behind her, who were fighting the urge to run away with every fibre of their being. "See, they're on suspension." the whistle dropped lamely from Dash's mouth as her gaze turned towards the pink-haired duo. Pinkie was almost visibly shaking, and Wookie was fighting to keep his composure.

"What?" Dash's voice was quiet, deadly, and sent shivers down the spine of the liaison who'd never trained with her. "Suspended? What the hell did you two do?!" when they remained silent, she stomped her foot. "I asked you a question, Hunters!"

"It's a long story, Dash." Lyra said, trying to ease the tension, which was thick enough to cut with a Longsword. Rainbow Dash blew her whistle, and called in the seniors, her eyes never leaving the two shamed Hunters.

"Class dismissed." the students all looked at each other, a few of them with soaking wet clothes as they didn't move. "Did I stutter?!" they scattered like a herd of Kelbi. "Now, as for what to do about you two." she slammed her fist down on a large red button, and the ground opened beneath the Gauntlet, and it dropped down a floor. The chamber slid shut, leaving nothing but the empty floor in the middle of the arena. "You're going to do a little work while I talk with the lovely liaison here." she turned and walked back to a closet, coming back and throwing a large pile of weapons down in front of them. Nothing that either of them was accustomed to, either. Pinkie moved first, pulling an Iron Katana out of the pile, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. She slid the Longsword into its sheath, and held it in her left hand. Wookie grabbed a Warhammer, hoisting it up onto his shoulde with a grunt. They stood there, looking at one another, then back at Dash. "Waiting for an invitation? Get out there." she blew her whistle and they moved towards the stairs.

"Wait." Wookie stopped, part way down the stairs, Pinkie only a few steps in from of him. "You gave us weapons. What about armor?" a malicious smile spread across Dash's face as she pressed another button and the stairs flattened, sending the pair sliding into the arena below.

"Welcome to remedial courses, kids!" the trainer kicked a lever and a large gate on the far end of the arena opened. The Hunters got to their feet, watching as two monsters that they were unfamiliar with lumbered out of the open gate.

"I'm kicking your ass, next." Wookie said to Pinkie, swinging his Hammer around and taking the standard stance. "Let's get this taken care of." Pinkie nodded, following behind him, Longsword still sheathed. The two monsters looked oddly similar, yet there were glaring differences. One appeared to be an oversized armadillo with bright red armor. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth for a second as the sedatives started to wear off. The other looked similar to an Arzuros, but had the face of a rabbit. It looked to be in about the same shape as the red monster. It was in the process of waking up. They were both sizeable creatures, standing at least fifteen feet tall, head to toe.

"Volvidon and Lagombi?" Lyra asked, watching as the two Hunters closed in on the monsters. "That safe without armor?"

"Hunting without armor is never safe. This teaches Hunters not to get hit, though. These two have done it before, but never as a pair. So, what happened?" Lyra began to explain the situation to Rainbow as the battle below began.

The rabbit-esque creature, the Lagombi, recovered first, and stood up to full height. It shook its head and noticed the Hunters. It dove and slid rapidly away on its smooth belly, Wookie's weapon impacting where the monster had stood a second earlier. The Volvidon drew its tongue into its mouth and rolled sideways, dodging Pinkie's first swing. The sheath clattered to the ground, and she took the Longsword in both hands, taking a stance similar to the one she'd used when she fought with her Switch Axe. The Hunters looked at each other before backing up slowly until their backs touched. The monsters started to circle around them.

"Game plan?" Wookie asked, his eyes glued to the Lagombi, which looked like it was getting ready to pounce.

"Get applications to work at the market down the street?" Pinkie suggested, and she heard Wookie laugh, which did her mood a world of good. He hadn't laughed since they'd been suspended. The Volvidon stood up on its hind legs. "Watch my back."

"What?" Wookie looked over his shoulder and was blown away at how fast his partner was moving. Without armor and with the lighter weapon, she was much more agile. She had closed the gap on the Volvidon and left almost no window for it to react. It lashed its tongue out and she held up her left arm, the tongue wrapping around her sleeve. She took a smooth swing with the katana and severed the tongue in a single swipe. The monster recoiled, roaring in pain. Pinkie shook the tongue off her arm, though she had lost some feeling in her left arm. The Volvidon's saliva had paralyzingly properties. Wookie had just watched her in amazement, but was snapped into the real world as the Lagombi headbutted him in the stomach. With no armor to cushion the blow, he took a hard fall, winded. He managed to keep a hold on his Warhammer. "You son of a bitch." he muttered, spinning up into a standing position, swinging the Hammer in a lage arc and smashing it hard into the side of the Lagombi's head, sending it staggering to its left. Pinkie and Wookie worked their way back, until they were standing back-to-back again.

"That went well." Pinkie spoke, grinning, as the two monsters started to regain their composure. The monsters glowered at the Hunters, blood dripping from the Volvidon's mouth, and the Lagombi looking like it had a minor concussion. "Switch!" the Huntress yelled and they spun so they were facing the monste they hadn't attacked. They split and closed in on their targets. Smoke started to flow from the base of Wookie's hammer, and he performed a heavy, upward swing into the Volvidon's chin, and a sickening crack was heard just before her brought the weapon down with an incredible amount of force, causing the armored, red monster to hit the ground completely stunned, he started smashing open the monster's shell as Pinkie chased down the Lagombi.

The oversized rabbit had been sliding around on its belly, keeping away from Pinkie. It was running scared, but it was running out of gas. Pinkie had kept moving at an impressive pace. Almost able to run side-by-side with the Lagombi when it was sliding. A trajectory error caused the monster to lose control and careen into a wall. It lay in a daze before it felt the sharp pain of a Longsword cutting into its flesh. It got to its feet and was going to take a swing at Pinkie, but stopped short. It saw something in the Huntress's eyes that caused it to freeze in place before attempting to run again.

"Going somewhere?" Pinkie's voice sounded the same as when she'd crushed the Barioth's face. The difference was the aura around her body, something that Rainbow Dash took notice of immediately. The Huntress sliced the Lagombi's back left leg off, and it rolled away, wailing in pain. The bloody stump leaving a trail between itself and the Huntress.

The cyan-coated trainer watched the scene before her, a smirk playing at her lips. Wookie had beaten the Volvidon into complete submission. All of its extremities had been broken, and the giant armadillo laid helpless as the Hunter struck the final blow, crushing the monster's head with his hammer. Pinkie was the more interesting of the pair, the aura that surrounded her body was something that Rainbow knew that not every Hunter could tap into. There were fewer and fewer Longsword users these days because bloodlines that carried the ability to tap into the inner spirit, or 'Demonize' as it became more commonly know, were few and far between. The few the still could tended to be more partial to Dual Blades. Dash watched closely as the Huntress practically reduced the Lagombi to ribbons.

"It's probably a good thing that attacking other people is punishable by death. I think those two would give the Guildmasters a hell of a fight." Dash said, grinning. Lyra chuckled, watching the pair of Hunters high five.

Comments

[Grif_Bladefeather]

HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY! longsword users use spirit combos, we DUAL BLADERS demonize it's not the same thing and thats prejudice to lump them together!

[BronyArmitage]

2506632
I'm just saying, what if it takes the same kind of qualities? That was the implications. I just used "Demonize" as the wide-spread term. They're both meter-based systems.

[Grif_Bladefeather]

2507255they wheren't originaly, demonizations is a mode that burns your stamina but makes you attack harder, cut through nearly anything no matter the sharpnees and immune to all but extreme wind effects.

spirit combo utilizes the longswordsmens fighting spirit built throught battle to increase there speed and power. lumping them together is like saying the bowguns ammo system is the same as the gunlances wyvern blast.

[Arthur Derpmanson]

2463582 DJINN FTW!!!